REAL GAMES - ASTERIX AND OBELIX

Once again, the sequel proves to be superior over the original in every way.

Much like yesterday's review, Asterix and Obelix is a platforming game based on the French comic by the same name.  Unlike Asterix, however, this game is fun.  Everything that was wrong with the first game has been fixed, and everything that was already good has been improved upon.  I already went over the source material yesterday, so lets skip all of that and get to the review.

This time around, the game actually gives us a story.  It is very brief, but it explains a whole hell of a lot more than Asterix did.  Another improvement that you will find right at the beginning is the ability to choose between Asterix or Obelix.  We also have a password system, because unlike Asterix, this game takes longer than 50 minutes to beat.  So far, we are off to a great start.

This time we get to play as Obelix, also known as Gerard Depardieu.

So how about the controls?  Well, they are pretty much the same, except they got rid of those annoying camera control buttons.  Just that one tiny change, however, has made this game a lot less frustrating.

The improvements keep coming, in the form of audio.  Every stage has its own unique background music, and there are a lot of stages.  So even though this game is a bit longer, the music never gets old or annoying.  Excellent.

Everything visual about this game has been remastered.  Even though the sprites in Asterix were good, they have managed to make them look a lot better this time around.  The stage design and variations of enemies have also improved substantially.  Instead of random shapes for backgrounds, we are given highly detailed scenes that look as if they were directly taken from the source material.  This game also has some crazy attention to detail for the animations.  For example, when you uppercut an enemy off the screen, you can see them crashing back down to earth in the background.  It's those type of things that make this game stand out from the rest.

The biggest problem with the gameplay in Asterix was the lack there of.  Asterix and Obelix definitely does not suffer from this problem, as it has tons of stages and challenges.  But it's still just a platforming game, right?  Yes, and no.  It does offer the traditional challenges of a platforming game, but it also has mini games strewn about to add a touch of originality.  For example, you get to face off against the Romans in a game of Rugby, compete in the Olympics, build a palace for Cleopatra, and participate in a bullfight.  This game is all over the place, but in a good way.

The Naked Truth: You're all ugly and flat.  Bullfighting is awesome.

I loved this game.  5 laughing vikings out of 5.  The French have finally delivered a great game.  There's really not much else to say.  If you are a fan of the comic, play this game.  If you want to see how platform games should be done, play this game.